Three weeks of Updates

So it's been three weeks since I blogged. I started writing this last week but for reason I lost most of it despite hitting save frequently while writing it. So this blog will cover the past three weeks. It may be a little long.

I did very little in the way of quilting the first week. I was working on a Mini-Class for church. I prepped and taught a class on baking yeast bread. It was not just a demonstration, we made bread. Everyone took home a loaf. There were 12 of us there. I think everyone had a good time which makes it all worthwhile for me. I hope everyone learned something.

Prepping fro this class was a pain though. The week before the class I was trying to put together print outs for the class to take home.You know recipes and such. But my printer would not feed the paper. I was so frustrated. This is the second Cannon printer I had bought in less than 9 months.  I never had this much trouble with printers. We had a Lexmark for 6 years. We had 2 different HP for a total of 14 years. Why the cannon printers won't last I have no clue and they both did the same thing. I emailed Cannon to no avail. It's been three weeks and they haven't responded. So I ended up buying a new printer. You better believe it wasn't a Cannon. I went back to HP. This one is supposed to be good for printing pictures so I am hoping it will give me a good quality print on fabric for picture quilts.

As for Quilting though, I had a pretty good couple of weeks. With the new printer, I printed out some quilt labels on printer fabric. I put a label on the first quilt off the long arm. In fact this is the first quilt I've put a label on. I think the cattail design goes pretty well with the Around the Rail Fence quilt. I even got the quilt packed up and ready to send to my oldest so Josh and his family.

What do you use for quilt labels? I bought a CD of quilt labels off Amazon. I have to say I am disappointed in it. I thought that it would have several templates of different quilt labels on it and I would just have to type in all the pertinent information and hit print. But it was just a CD of drawings, some with lines, and some with just an open space. For the most part, the drawings weren't that good. I was discouraged that I spent good money for it. I picked out a few designs that I could live with. Then I had to copy the design into a word program and adjust the size so I could get 2 images on one sheet of fabric. I then had to print out the images on printer fabric, write in the information and color the design to make it more personal. It works but it isn't what I thought I was getting.

My son, Evan, is a pretty good artist. I am asking him to design a quilt label for me. If I am going to have to write in the information, and color it anyway, I might as well have a design that reflects who I am. He is very busy these days taking care of his family. He works six days a week, so I am sure I will have to wait awhile. But I think I will prefer his design to the drawings on the CD.

Some of my wonder clips came in, so I got to work on putting the binding on Arianna's quilt. I have even managed to get it about a third of the way stitched down. It is something I can do while watching TV with my husband. Tatianna still hasn't finished the second quilt and now that she is taking classes again it may be a while before it gets done. I am trying to let her finish it in her tiny stitches. But I may break down and take over, just to get it done.

I also got the fourth (purple) quilt done on the long arm. This was the disappearing nine patch. I stitched a curl design in purple thread. The roundness of the stitching softened to line of the piecing pattern and made the uneven lines less noticeable. But I did have some problems with it and I did learn some lessons.

I believe I told you I learned the importance of basting down the sides of the quilt before quilting. On this quilt I learned it is important to keep the basting stitches smaller than the head of the quilting foot. It is no easy task to free up the quilting foot once it has slipped under the fabric and stitched itself into the quilt. If I hadn't been watching closely, it would have ruined the quilt. As it was, I did end up with a small tear up at the top. I will put a wide binding on to hide the repair.

This quilt also reinforced my desire to take a class on using the Quilt Path software. I really need to learn to use it better. On this quilt, I stacked five rows of curls, every other row was reversed and offset. When I went to stitch the second grouping, I needed to start with the offset row. I couldn't figure out how to do that, so I created another pattern starting with the offset row. I had written down the size so I could get the groupings the same size but somehow I ended up with the second grouping being a quarter of an inch smaller. It was very frustrating. I was almost ready to give up on it all together. When my son, Killian came into the studio. (He thinks the long arm is neat.) He commented on how he liked the curl design.

I showed Killian the problem I was having and told him I was debating taking the stitches out. Killian said to me "Mom, you are the only one who will ever notice that." He also reminded me that this is a time of learning and mistakes are going to happen. He is right of course. This is not a quilt that I am entering into a competition. It is a learning quilt. Killian also said that anyone who is that critical of one of my quilts doesn't need one of my quilts. He's probably correct there as well. I left the stitching in. Some times we are our own worse critics. Yes, I need to work towards perfection but not at the loss of my sanity.

Another lesson I learned on this quilt is that I tend to pull and stretch the quilt top as I pin it on the leader. I am not sure how I did that but I need to be more careful. I should have taken the quilt top off and re pinned it when I noticed that it was not rolling up evenly. Because I didn't, I got some buckling towards the end. It isn't so bad but I had to tug and pull a little to keep it this minor. Tugging and pulling probably wasn't the right thing to do but in the heat of the moment, it seemed the only thing.  At least the quilt is quilted and that makes four quilts done on the long arm. Once they are all bound, that will make twice as many quilts done this year than I did last year.

I have gotten the binding sewn onto the fourth (purple) quilt and will start stitching it down as soon as I get Arianna's quilt done. In the meantime I need to get another quilt on the long arm. I have one top that is almost done. It is a braid quilt that I started about four years ago. I just need to add the end borders and make the back. I found some fabric for the back and will try to get this quilt ready and on the machine this week.

This week I also straightened up the studio a bit. I cleared my work surface and my computer desk. I filed a bunch of paperwork and all in all made things better. I also started laying out the Christmas Lemonade quilt and am quite pleased with how it looks so far.

Projects for this week:

• Finish the braid quilt top and back and get it on the machine
• Finish binding Arianna's quilt and add the label - I already made the label.
• Bind the purple quilt and add a label.
• Build a portable/storable design wall - I have an idea based on some things I saw on Pintrest.
• Sew curtains for the studio windows - I found some nice fabric on sale. It is cut and ready to be sewn. The curtain rods need put in as well. That is what my husband and son are for.
• Mend some pants for a friend - she doesn't sew and it is only a seam the popped.
• Lay out the Christmas Lemonade quilt - I started this and realized that my bed was not going to work since I needed to be able to go to sleep at night. Hence the need for the design wall.
• Work on the star quilt

Okay, I know that I will not get all of these done this week but it doesn't hurt to have things listed out. It gives me direction. In fact I am writing them out on a paper and posting it in my studio next to my sewing machine.

What is under your needle this week?

Accomplisments, Plans, and Food for Thought

So I took my third quilt off the long arm this week. I have trimmed it and have it ready to put the binding on. I am kind of stalled out because two thirds of my wonder clips are still on the second quilt. Tatianna is still working on sewing that binding down. She thought she needed to use tiny stitches to secure the binding. When I say tiny, think a short machine stitch. Since she is a quarter of the way done she feels she needs to finish it with those tiny stitches. I think I said before she is a little OCD. I do have more wonder clips on the way, so when they get here I will start working on the binding. Arianna will be so pleased if I get it done before her anniversary.

I also did a lot of organizing in my studio this week. I have all the planned or in progress quilts and kits on the shelf, I went through old projects and organized them. I have them all on this really neat wire shelf from Lowe's. One of the things about this shelf that I really like is the fact that I can hang things on it. I took some "S" hooks and hung my cut and press pad on the end along with my larger lint rollers, on the front I used smaller "S" hooks and hung little things like box openers and little screwdrivers

   

 I placed things under my long arm neatly to have ready at hand without being in the way. Still is messy but better than before. I will have to come up with a better arrangement when my husband gets the batting bar installed. If you look in the back you can see my granddaughter's tricycle which needs to find a new home. Preferably in Idaho with her. If I can figure out how to get it out there I will send her Mother's sewing machine along as well. 

I gave away my mother's sewing machine this weekend. I don't need six machines. It was not the one I learned to sew on and in reality it wasn't really my mother's machine. She never liked it. It was one my dad bought when I couldn't get her old singer to work on the knit fabric I was sewing into a dress for my friends wedding rehearsal dinner.  They went out and bought a Kenmore that would sew the knit fabric. It was similar to one I had used in school so I liked it, but Mom never did get used to it. Mom would be happy that I gave it to some one who will use it. Anyway one machine down.


I still have a couple of boxes to go through and some filing to get done but the studio is coming together. I even cleaned off my sewing desk and have it ready to sew one. I have to post a picture of it because I don't know how long it will stay that way. My family has a habit of putting things on my desk for me to take care of. It is frustrating especially if I am wanting to sew. I tend to just move it to another place and then the piles start to grow. I need to find away to quickly take care of these things instead of piling them up elsewhere. I like having a clean work surface.

I also made the difficult decision to quit holding onto some quilts I started seven years ago. These were from a block of the month club that a very small quilt shop was doing. The shop is now defunct. I don't know if I even have all the instructions. I was doing three at a time. Two were to practice the blocks on before cutting into the very expensive $10.00 a yard fabric. The shop is now defunct. Mostly because they marked everything up so much and really gouged their customers. $25.00 a month to get a photocopy of the instructions for that month's block.  People got tired of that real quick plus they didn't pay the teachers very well. Anyway. I put the fabric in yardage and I will make hot pads out of the completed blocks. That cleared up some of the clutter.

Last week I mentioned that I had bought some quilt tops on e-bay. One was fairly good sized but ugly. The thing is the blocks were hand sewn. It looks like someone found them and just sewed them together without any thought. The fabric they used in between the rows of blocks was totally wrong for the the blocks. It was obvious the work of two different people. Tatianna and I think we may take it apart and sash the blocks with white. Plus the bocks need squared up to lay flat anyway. That means quilting it is now on hold until we do the original quilter's work justice.

The other quilt top was a disappearing nine patch. It was obviously the work of a beginner. The seller mentioned that she hoped I liked it. I do! I told her so but asked why she never finished it. She said she had taken a class and when the class was finished, the instructor gave them a list of quilters to send their quilts to. When she found out how much it would cost to have it quilted she decided to wait until she was better at making the tops. I asked her why she didn't quilt it on her sewing machine. She said the instructor told her it would be too difficult and it wouldn't really work on a regular machine. That made me sad. This was a small top only 42 inches square. It could have been done on a regular sewing machine. From talking to the woman, I think the class was sponsored by a group quilters that were drumming up quilting business. The cost was nominal and they provided their own fabric. While I can understand the idea it still makes me kind of sad.  The woman now doesn't have her first quilt because it would cost too much to finish it. When I have my own quilt shop, I will encourage women to do what they can to finish their quilts even if it is to hand quilt them. Plus I will help them if I can.

The quilt didn't have any borders. It had 1/2 inch seams instead of 1/4 inch. The blocks weren't totally straight but it was a really good job done by a first timer. I decided to add borders to make it larger. I was totally pleased with how it looked after I added the borders. The purple borders make the whole thing pop. I can't wait to quilt it now. I already have the back made and will put this on the machine this week. Not sure what design I am going to do but I have the perfect color purple thread to quilt it with. I may send the seller a picture of the finished quilt.

So that pretty much gives you and idea of this coming week's projects. Quilt the purple quilt. Bind Ariannna's quilt. Work on the studio. I may even manage sewing everyday since my husband is out of town again. What will you work on?

The Learning Curve and Then Some

A round of applause, please. I have completely finished one quilt. It only needs a label and the I will ship it off to my oldest son and his wife. It is my first quilt done on the long arm. I hope they don't mind all the errors but I am just learning and well it is made with love. It is not a true bed size quilt but I figure it is a good size for the grand kids to cuddle under on the couch when they are sick. In the picture you can see my son Killian's feet and the top of his head. He is about 5'10" so it is a good size.


Here is a closer look at the pattern. The random fabric in the rails works because the rails didn't have to match up to make the pattern. I used fat quarters for this so I needed to be able to not match up rails.  I am really pleased with how it came out.

If you remember, I said in a previous post that this was not a quilt I particularly wanted to do. It was a project planned for the young women at my church. But it was canceled and I had already cut the fabric. If I didn't make it those strips would have sat in a bin for all eternity. I just don't need another millennial project. I guess I should explain "millennial project" My friend Kerri Lynn refers to projects that sit on shelves half finished as millennial projects. It implies that the projects will get done some time during the millennial (a religious term referring to Christ's reign of a thousand years before the judgment day) I think of it as taking a thousand years to finish it. I already have enough of those. Ask my daughter Arianna about the quilt I started her at the end of her senior year of high school.


This quilt was a learning quilt. I learned  how to design a pattern for the quilt. I am still learning about placement of  the design and how to get it meshed right. I learned how to optimized the pattern, and when and where I want pattern breaks. This pictures show where I took out a pattern break that I should have left in. Every so often there is a line of stitching connecting the rows of stitching. I also learned that while I have no problem threading a hand needle for sewing, a needle threader is really the best way to get the ends of both threads through the eye of the needle so I can bury them. It was really hard to get both threads through the eye, even with a large eye. I bought several needle threaders this last week.


I also learned about the importance of pulling the bobbin thread. This is what happens when you forget to pull the bobbin thread. I have little birds nests in a few spots on the quilt. And I just couldn't get them out with out tearing out the quilting. These are mistakes that I can't make when I am quilting for others.So I need to learn from them.



I did like the stitch pattern though. Flowing vines and leaves. It seemed to go with the fabric and I quilted it in a brown despite having a light back ground. It is little difficult to see in the picture, but they are really pretty.


I also said in a previous post, I had enough blocks left to make a small quilt. I am pleased to say that quilt is also almost done. It is quilted and the binding is on it, turned and ready to be stitched down on the back. You can see the Wonder Clips holding the binding in place. These last two quilts are the first time I have used the Wonder Clips. I hate getting stuck with the pins while I sew down the binding. In the store Wonder Clips cost about $7.00 for ten. I may be cheap but I thought that was insane and I would just use pins and get stuck. I was online one day and saw a set of fifty for around $8.00. So I thought why not and ordered 2 sets of 50. You need enough to go around the quilt right? I loved them. I actually went back to the site, Quilting Treasures, and ordered 2 more sets of fifty. They weren't on sale anymore but fifty for $22.00 still beats ten for $7.00.

I would have stitched the binding down this weekend but Tatianna asked me to leave for her to take to work with her.  Tatianna works with an elderly couple for half a day, everyday. She usually ends there all day because we are down to three vheicles. Killian has to drop her off on his way to work, and pickes her up on his way home. She wants to use that extra time to stitch the binding on. She is feeling the need to do more sewing. It is a stress relief for her as well.

Any way this little quilt will make a nice lap quilt for someone. It was also stitched in brown but it has a brown back. The quilting pattern I used on this quilt was called diamonds and truthfully I like it even better that the vines and leaves. The stitching is much denser. It gives the quilt a much more substantial feel to it.

I have learned a great deal doing these two quilts but I have so much more to learn. My third quilt is on the long arm and I am really struggling with this one. Part of the problem is the quilt itself but a good deal of it is I got cocky. I had thought I got this and well I didn't.  I am really needing to learn more about the program that drives the machine. It is called Quiltpath.  I have decided that when Patty Butcher of Katydids Quilting Studio offers the Quiltpath quilt camp I am going. I am setting aside the money out of my bonus and taking the time off from work and going. I need more training on the Quiltpath so I can be a better quilter. And of course my husband is all about me getting the training. I am greatful he is so supportive of this enterpise. Even though he can't stand to listen to the machine run. (he feels the same about my sewing machine).

In the meantime, I am finishing up quilts and practicing and learning as I go. I have a quilt top that Miss Betty's mother made that I am going to quilt. I have another that I need to put a couple of borders on. Then I got 2 tops on ebay really cheap (less than ten dollars) that will work for practice peices even if they turn out to be poor quality. I don't think I will mind making mistakes on those as much as I do on the ones I peice.

So the coming weeks will be more practice and more learning. Now if I can just get over the fact I have to go to work and not stay home and quilt. I really would rather stay home.

What are you learning this week?